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Dominican Republic - Ordinary Superheroes

Tim Challies

Tim Challies' Blog

2008Nov 06

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This is our last day in the Dominican Republic. Tomorrow morning we
will head for the airport and from there we will fly for home, leaving
the developing world and returning to the developed world. As
much as I’ve enjoyed this experience, I can’t deny that I’ll be glad to
be home. I’ve been to many homes here in Dominican Republic but I don’t
know if I’ll remember any of them more vividly than Julia’s house. I
wrote about Julia yesterday, describing the kind of poverty she had
experienced as a girl—poverty that forced her to wear a borrowed dress
just to have her photo taken for Compassion’s sponsorship program. Now
a university student as part of Compassion’s Leadership Development
Program, tears spilled from her eyes as she remembered the shame of
poverty. Today Julia lives in a slightly nicer home—though dark and
musty and sad by our standards, it was positively luxurious compared to
many we saw and compared to what she had known as a child.

We sat in Julia’s living room, on benches and chairs and the floor,
and asked her mother about what Compassion meant to her, having seen it
support two of her girls. She had no words. Tears filled her eyes, and
ours. I guess words really weren’t necessary. We asked Julia about her
sponsors and she told us of Roger, the sponsor in New Zealand who had
supported her from age six all the way through her graduation from the
Sponsorship Program. For twelve years Roger had supported her, written
her cards and letters, sent her gifts, and even written her asking for
advice on whether or not he should ask his girlfriend to become his
wife! For twelve years he had prayed for Julia and she for him.

“What would you tell him if you could talk to him?”

“I love you so much. I still read your letters and cards and still have the pictures you sent to me!”

“What does Roger mean to you?”, we asked.

“He is my superhero.”

A superhero. It was not the only time this week I heard the word.
For all the talk of the extraordinary men and women who have made such
a difference in the lives of children, when I went to the homes of the
girls and they proudly showed off the letters and photos they had
received, the sponsors, whether from America or New Zealand or anywhere
else, looked awfully ordinary to me. And I guess this is what
Compassion is looking for. They aren’t looking for the rich and the
famous, the notorious or the renowned. They are looking for ordinary
people to play an extraordinary role in the lives of children who so
desperately need help. They’re looking for a few ordinary superheroes.

I’ve been here for four days now and have seen Compassion in action.
I’ve seen women being trained in how to care for their children. I’ve
seen projects where the children receive an education and receive the
good news of Jesus Christ. I’ve seen future leaders who are attending
university through the Leadership Development Program. I’ve seen a
water filtration system built to supply an entire
neighborhood—thousands of people who drink water that leaves them with
fungi and lesions—with pure, clean water. I have met Compassion staff
who were sponsored children themselves and who are now dedicating their
lives to serving children through the organization that so ably served
them.

I came to Dominican Republic on something of a fact-finding mission.
I do not sponsor a child. I’ve thought about it many times, but have
never had confidence that Compassion is what they claim to be. But
having seen it in action, I now have no doubts. I’m willing to stake my
reputation on it. When I get home we will be visiting the web site as a
family to choose at least one child to sponsor. Frankly, I’d like to
have each of my kids sponsor one child (though I still need to talk
this over with Aileen!). Compassion is all that they claim to be—more
even. They were true to their word and allowed me to open every filing
cabinet, look behind every door, and so on.

Today I want to encourage you to consider sponsoring a child. You
know the pitch—for the price of a cup of coffee a day you can make the
difference in the life of a child. I know now that this isn’t just idle
talk. You really can (and will!) make a difference. But don’t just
sponsor a child—write to him, have your children write to him, pray for
him, send him a birthday gift. These things will get through to him,
they will mean the world to him, they will change his life.